


they're gonna know that we were here

by steepedinwords



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Gen, adhd reggie, i ship luke x food, none of these boys are neurotypical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steepedinwords/pseuds/steepedinwords
Summary: “Let’s see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise!”It’s a crazy, giddy thought. They could do anything.The boys try out the nightlife on their first night as ghosts.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 178





	they're gonna know that we were here

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Lights' "We Were Here."
> 
> I headcanon Reggie as having ADHD; hopefully I did an okay job writing that.
> 
> Reference to implied underage drinking - I assume if three 17-year-olds were playing in clubs, they must have had fake IDs to be able to get in.

“Let’s see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise!”

It’s a crazy, giddy thought. They could do _anything_. How much have things changed? Reggie remembers what it was like playing clubs Before, as if it were yesterday - well, it practically was yesterday, for them. Noise and people, heavy beats and bright hot lights and the smell of alcohol and sweat. The four of them waiting eagerly for their moment, whatever it was - opening for a bigger band, playing for an hour, even just busking outside the door and hoping they didn’t get kicked out by security. And always the rush of playing together, for each other and for the crowd, a crackling feedback loop of manic energy.

The night air smells the same outside the first club they find - smokers hanging outside the doors, people standing in line to be carded, a crisp fall breeze ruffling dead leaves into drifts along the pavement. Reggie automatically heads towards the back of the line, but Luke grins and grabs his arm, heading for the door. Alex protests for a second but is caught up in their wake.

“Chill, dude. No one’s going to be mad if we jump the line. They couldn’t even see us if we did line up.”

Reggie pats Alex’s shoulder reassuringly, and then has a thought. “Sweet, we won’t need our fake IDs!”

“Not like you’d be able to buy a drink, anyway,” Alex points out in a resigned tone. “You’re a ghost. They can’t see you.”

“Oh yeah.” Reggie shakes his head. “I wonder if we can actually - like, can ghosts eat? I could demolish a pizza right now.”

“Yeah, me too.” Luke grimaces. “Dude, I have _never_ gone this long without eating before.”

They slip inside, muscle memory telling them to move around people rather than through them, but people can’t see them so they don’t move aside. It’s weird. Reggie’s not sure he likes it, and then his arm goes through someone else’s as they crowd against the three invisible, intangible boys in the doorway, and that’s even weirder. He shudders.

It’s loud inside, as expected. There are lights, music, people dancing - all the usual. The music has changed some - a lot crisper and more electronic, he decides after listening for a few minutes. Neat. People are wearing different clothes, but drunk partiers always act the same, apparently. Dance moves are different. His brain’s clicking away at the usual million miles a minute, and he almost doesn’t notice Luke slipping off towards the bar. 

Alex is staring wide-eyed at two women dancing, arms wound around each other, staring openly into each other’s eyes, and wow, yeah, that’s different. Most gay people weren’t that brave in 1995, not in a regular bar at least. _So_ awesome. And - dang, this beat is catchy. Reggie grins and catches Alex’s elbow, pulling him into an awkward little spin and shimmy. It’d be better if they were the ones up on stage, if people could hear them instead of moving through them like they aren’t there, but he’ll take it. Alex grins back, but he’s still holding himself kinda tense like he does sometimes in crowds, so Reggie decides maybe he’s not in the mood to dance right now.

They make their way over to Luke, who’s standing near the bar staring wistfully at an ad for chicken wings scrawled in chalk on the board behind it, and at the people working behind the counter, who are looking straight through him. No luck ordering anything, then. (Do people even still use the same money now? How fast does that change? Reggie has no idea. He’s only got like, three bucks in his jacket pocket, anyhow. No idea where his wallet went.)

“Hey, dude.” Luke’s looking kind of bummed, and Reggie points to a mostly-empty plate of food on a table. There’s a pile of uneaten chicken wings left. By the look of the plate, they were too spicy for someone. “Just try one of those.”

“That’s how you get mono - okay. ” Alex cuts himself off, shaking his head.

Luke’s face lights up and he goes to swipe one of the pieces of chicken off the plate, but his hand goes right through it. A couple more tries, and he’s looking frustrated and kind of bummed out. Picking up the plate doesn’t work either. He crouches down and lowers his face to the plate, and Reggie can’t help the laugh that bursts out of him. “What are you doing, man?”

“I just - ” Luke tries unsuccessfully to pick the food up with his teeth. “Argh. I can’t even taste it.” He straightens up, and the expression on his face is so bummed out, Reggie wants to give him a hug. And also kind of feels bummed out on his own account. Food is _amazing_. Not being able to eat food? Is going to _really suck._

Alex yells to be heard over the music. “I thought we came here to have a good time!” A hand on both their arms, and he’s pulling them onto the dance floor - and how the heck does that work, how do gravity and physics work on them with each other but not with anyone else? What are the rules of ghost physics even? Reggie shakes his head and snaps his fingers. “You’re just trying to distract us.”

“Is it working?” Alex asks hopefully, and Luke’s grin comes back, and Reggie feels a little better. Whatever weird rules this ghost thing has, at least they aren’t alone in figuring it out.

A new song comes on, something with a heavy beat, twangy lyrics, and Reggie feels a huge smile come across his face. Country. _Yes._ They still have country twenty-five years in the future.

_Gonna take my horse to the old town road  
Ride till I cain’t no more_

“This is amazing!” he yells. They’re in the thick of it now, living people thronging around them, and Luke cups a hand around his ears. “What?”

Conversation’s impossible, so Reggie shakes his head and settles in to enjoy the beat, the music running through him like a live wire. The DJ here is pretty good. 

They stay through a couple more songs till Alex starts to get that peaky look like the noise and crowd is getting to him. Luke notices first, taps them both on the shoulders, and jerks his head upwards. They follow him up to the roof of the building. Honestly, that way of getting around is pretty dang cool - one minute they’re in a hot, crowded room and the next they’re standing in a cool night breeze. Reggie glances at Alex, and yeah, he’s standing a bit easier already. Looser, like he can breathe easier.

They sit at the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the edge. Reggie still gets a weird swoopy feeling in his stomach when he looks down, even though he supposes falling wouldn’t actually hurt him, any more. He looks out across the city instead, where LA’s lights are spread out bright and cheerful in the dark. His friends bracket him on either side, arms solid and warm against his, and he could just sit like this all night. Take a breather. It’s been a long day.

After everything, at least they still have each other. That’s - not nothing.

Having each other has always been everything.

**Author's Note:**

> I think Reggie would really enjoy "Old Town Road", so that's the song they listen to in the club. I was imagining a remixed version of it like the one at about 1 minute into this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke2oEcMDzY4&t=250s
> 
> I guess I should start linking my tumblr - I blog over at greenestcoat.


End file.
